AP Exclusive: Most Florida flood zone property not insuredFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, an Associated Press analysis shows a steep drop in flood insurance across the state, including the areas most endangered by what could be a devastating storm surge. In just five years, the state's total number of federal flood insurance policies has fallen by 15 percent, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency data. Florida's property owners still buy far more federal fl...

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By TERRY SPENCER and MEGHAN HOYER, Associated PressAssociated Press

The Latest: 500,000 ordered to evacuate in South FloridaSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local): 3:35 p.m. South Florida officials are expanding evacuation orders as Hurricane Irma approaches, telling more than a half-million people to seek safety inland. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has announced evacuation orders for downtown Miami and other parts of the city, plus southern parts of the county. The expanded evacuation area also includes Homestead, Coral Gables, S...

New phase in Russia probe as Trump Jr. heads to CapitolWASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr.'s scheduled visit to Capitol Hill on Thursday marks a new phase in the Senate investigation of Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election and a meeting that the president's eldest son had with Russians during the campaign. Staff from the Senate Judiciary Committee, one of three congressional committees conducting investigations, planned to privately interview the younger Trump. Emails he released in July that detailed...

House rushes to vote first billions for Harvey reliefWASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday moved swiftly toward approving $7.9 billion in Harvey disaster relief as Republicans and Democrats united, if only for a moment, to proclaim Congress' support for victims of the storm while a new hurricane bore down on Florida. "Nothing can capture how big and wide this devastation is," Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters ahead of an expected resounding vote. But politics quickly intruded as Democratic...

As Harvey finally fizzles, a look at what made it so nastyWASHINGTON — The slow-moving, super-wet and especially devastating storm named Harvey is finally fizzling. Since first hitting shore near Corpus Christi, Texas, more than a week ago, the storm dumped 27 trillion gallons of rain on Texas and Louisiana — enough to cover all of Manhattan a mile (1.6 kilometers) deep. It set a record for rainfall from a tropical system in the continental U.S., dropping 51.88 inches (1.3 meters) just outside Housto...

US envoy tells UN: North Korean leader is 'begging for war'NEW YORK — North Korea's leader is "begging for war," the U.S. ambassador said Monday at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, as members called for punishing the country with even stronger sanctions for its powerful nuclear test. Ambassador Nikki Haley said the U.S. would look at countries doing business with the North and planned to circulate a resolution this week with the goal of getting it approved Sept. 11. "Enough is enough...

Report: 1 in 3 adults in U.S. beyond overweightCHARLESTON, W.Va. -- While a third of American adults and one in six children are obese, a report Thursday suggests the rate of increase could be stabilizing in some states. Citing statistics collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said West Virginia had the highest obesity rate at 37.7 percent. Mississippi was second at 37.3 percent a...

Rescuers pluck hundreds from rising floodwater in HoustonHOUSTON — Tropical Storm Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into the nation's fourth-largest city Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help. The incessant rain covered much of Houston in turbid, gray-green water and turned streets into rivers navigable only by boat. In a rescue effort that recalled the aftermath of Hurricane...

Hurricane Harvey poised to unleash flooding disaster on Texas into early next weekAccuWeather reports as Harvey continues to gather strength and moisture, the hurricane is poised to stall over coastal Texas and unleash life-threatening and disastrous flooding into next week. Harvey will have major impact in terms of dangerous surf, beach erosion, coastal flooding and damaging winds. However, Harvey is likely to be remembered for tremendous rainfall and days of flooding. Harvey is projected make landfall along the Texas coas...

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By Alex Sosnowski, Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeatherThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Eclipse day timeline from coast to coast: When will you see the total solar eclipse?AccuWeather reports The biggest celestial event of 2017 will take place on Monday, Aug. 21, but you may miss it if you do not know precisely when to look. The moon's shadow will travel from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States with only a narrow zone, called the path of totality, experiencing a total solar eclipse. In this path, the moon will block out the sun completely for less than three minutes, so being in the path at the...

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By Brian Lada, Meteorologist for AccuWeatherThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Stocks slump after midday rallyNEW YORK -- U.S. stocks slumped in the final minutes of trading Friday and ended a rough week with more losses. Bad news from sporting goods retailers weighed on the market. A day before, stocks had taken their biggest loss in three months. They opened lower after retailers Foot Locker and Hibbett Sports gave dour quarterly reports. The losses eased and stocks briefly turned higher following reports that President Donald Trump's chief strategi...

Trump ousts controversial BannonWASHINGTON -- Steve Bannon, the blunt-spoken and divisive strategist who rose from Donald Trump's conservative campaign to a top White House post, was pushed out by the president Friday, capping a turbulent seven months marked by the departure of much of Trump's original senior staff. The former leader of conservative Breitbart News and a favorite in the farther-right portions of the Republican Party, Bannon had pushed Trump to follow through ...

Top Fed official: Bond portfolio could shrinkNEW YORK -- A top Federal Reserve official suggested Monday that the Fed will likely announce next month that it will begin paring its bond portfolio -- a step that could lead to slightly higher rates on mortgages and other loans. In an interview with The Associated Press, William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said he thinks the Fed has adequately prepared investors for a reduction in the portfolio, which swelled a...

Terror-related convicts awaitWASHINGTON -- Dozens of convicts serving time in U.S. prisons for terrorism-related offenses are due to be released in the next several years, raising the question of whether that's something Americans should fear. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has worked aggressively to foil attacks and imprison hundreds of people who joined or helped militant groups. Experts say less attention has been paid to what happens once those prisoner...

Doctor told to stop marketing baby techniqueU.S. regulators on Friday warned a New York fertility doctor to stop marketing an experimental procedure that uses DNA from three people -- a mother, a father and an egg donor -- to avoid certain genetic diseases. The doctor, John Zhang, used the technique to help a Jordanian couple have a baby boy last year. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Zhang said his companies wouldn't use the technology in the U.S. again without permission...

Big rise in number of active leak probesWASHINGTON -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions has pledged to clamp down in government leaks that he said undermine American security, taking an aggressive public stand after being called weak on the matter by President Donald Trump. The nation's top law enforcement official is citing no current investigations in which disclosures of information had jeopardized the country, but says the number of criminal leak probes had more than tripled in the...

Texas rice farmers hope for increased trade opportunitiesRAYWOOD — Ray Stoesser rumbled around his quiet green fields in a mud-caked SUV, noting the minute gradations of the land, which is subtly terraced to allow water to flow downhill, irrigating the fields in slow succession. "We're going uphill, believe it or not," Stoesser said. After more than a half century of farming, he knows what each field needs and when, harvest after harvest. "Just like taking care of your backyard," he said. The Housto...

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By LYDIA DePILLIS, Houston ChronicleThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Artist charged in death thought man hit on himNEW YORK -- A New York prosecutor said Thursday that a founding member of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five stabbed a homeless man to death in Manhattan after he became enraged because he thought the man believed he was gay and was hitting on him, and he feared he would be robbed. Rapper Kidd Creole -- whose real name is Nathaniel Glover -- was returned to jail without bail by Judge Phyllis Chu on Thursday after an initial appearance in a...

Employer-based health coverage likely to stay awhileWASHINGTON — Get your insurance through your employer? The ongoing political turmoil around "Obamacare" all but guarantees you'll still be able to do that. Ask Walt Rowen, whose business is etching glass but whose experience managing century-old, family-owned Susquehanna Glass makes him something of an expert on health care. He's provided coverage to employees, then canceled it, steering them to the health insurance exchange. But with those pr...

Stocks move higher as employers add more jobs than expectedNEW YORK — U.S. stocks are rising Friday following a jobs report that was better than most experts expected. Bond prices fell and yields rose, which sent shares of banks and financial companies surging. Technology companies also climbed. Investors remained focused on corporate earnings. Weight Watchers climbed after reporting a strong quarter while Viacom, the media company that owns Comedy Central and MTV, sank. KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & ...